The Stamp Collecting Round-Up

Borneo Collector Likes Stamps and Standing in Line

2013-05-14T08:00:00.000-07:00

The Borneo Post reports, "It was the trend of pen pal letter-writing in yesteryears that gave local antique collector Lucas Johnny a boost to continue with his hobby of collecting stamps since his childhood days. He started on stamps since he was seven years old in 1953 during his school days."

Lucas, shown above, is quoted as saying, "My interest to collect stamps actually started after I was encouraged by my primary school teacher and continued my hobby up to secondary school at Methodist School Sibu."

According to the article, "Currently, he is ‘sharing’ his stamp collection by holding an exhibition at Pustaka Miri which started on May 6 until end of this month. He explained that the hobby of stamp-collecting was a popular hobby back in the 1960s and 1970s."

"Meanwhile, Lucas is also involved in the effort to break the record for the longest philately line at Miri Civic Centre on May 25. The event, which part of the events to mark the 8th Miri City Day is organised by Pustaka Miri and Miri City Council (MCC). In order to be eligible for the Malaysia Book of Records (MBR), the philately line has to be more than 300 metres," the article goes on to say.

To read the entire article, click here.

Boy Becomes Swiss Gaurd Because of Postage Stamp

2013-05-13T08:00:00.000-07:00

The Catholic News Service reports, "One young man’s dream of becoming a Swiss Guard began with a postage stamp."

Michael Odermatt is quoted in the article that "when he was a small child, his godfather gave him a stamp depicting the ornately dressed papal soldier and I was fascinated by that image and wanted to know everything about the Swiss Guard.”

According to Wikipedia, "Only unmarried Swiss males of the Catholic faith - historically, mainly from the four original Swiss cantons (Uri, Schwyz, Unterwalden, Luzern) and Valais - are eligible for service. Moreover, they must all be between 19 and 30 years of age, at least 174 cm tall and must have fulfilled their basic military training in the Swiss Army."

Shown above, 2005 Swiss stamp showing members of the Swiss Guard.

To read the entire article, click here.

Happy Mother's Day

2013-05-12T11:21:00.000-07:00

Shown here is a Mother's Day stamp issued by Austria on May 1, 1935 (SC#376).

It features a painting by J. Danhauser titled Mother's Love and was engraved by Hans Ranzoni.

To see some other stamps engraved by Ranzoni, click here and scroll down.

Stamp Catalogue Prices Are Misleading

2013-05-11T08:22:00.001-07:00

Britain's Guardian reports, "Stamps valued in professional catalogues at hundreds of pounds are fetching just a few quid on auction sites. But local philately clubs are still thriving."

Reporter Patrick Collinson quotes airline pilot Paul Sanderson who back in the 1960s "amassed a sizeable collection of mint or near-perfect British stamps" as saying...

"We are told that postage stamps are a good investment, and this may well be true for very old rare stamps. However, when it comes to less rare stamps we should treat Stanley Gibbons' catalogue values with a large pinch of salt, as in many cases they appear to be absurdly high. I have been selling some of my stamps and the prices raised have been a fraction of their catalogue values."

John Baron, chair of the Association of British Philatelic Societies is also quoted in the piece.

He advises collectors to regard the Gibbons catalogue as a guide to what is available rather than the real market price. "I had a text just this morning from a major collector. He says he takes the Stanley Gibbons price and divides it by between three and 10 so he knows what to expect. It's only if you go over £1,000 or so that the prices become more reliable."

According to a spokeswoman for Stanley Gibbons, "The catalogue is a guide to values at the higher end of the market. What your stamps fetch is all about the quality of the items – whether they're mint, the quality of the colour, the perforations, the condition of the gum, to how clearly and centrally a postmark has been stamped. It is a common fallacy that the prices in our catalogues show what a stamp is 'worth' should you wish to sell it. They are, instead, the price at which Stanley Gibbons will sell a fine example of the stamp in question."

To read the entire article, click here.

NY Man Pedals to Post Offices Around Nation

2013-05-10T07:14:00.001-07:00

The Associated Press reports, a northern New York man is bicycling around the lower 48 states in a quest to visit the most eastern, southern, western and northern post offices.

According to the AP, "...67-year-old Floyd Lampart of Lake Clear left his home outside Saranac Lake on April 4 and rode to Lubec, Maine, home to the easternmost post office in the nation.

"He then headed south, and arrived at the post office in Key West, Fla., earlier this week. Key West is the southernmost point in the U.S.

"Lampart plans to pedal to San Diego, then head up the Pacific Coast to La Push, Wash., to visit the most western continental U.S. post office. Then he'll go to the northern-most post office in Angle Inlet, Minn., before heading home."

Annual USPS Food Drive This Weekend

2013-05-09T09:29:00.000-07:00

This Saturday, the U.S. Postal Service will conduct its 21st annual "Stamp Out Hunger” food drive.

Washington state's Yakima Herald reports, "The food drive, which the USPS says is the largest single-day food collection event in the country, aims to provide relief for the nearly 50 million people in the U.S. who struggle with hunger. That’s about 1 in 6 people."

To donate to the food drive, community members can leave a bag of nonperishable food at their mailbox or wherever the letter carrier normally delivers their mail. Local carriers will pick up the food throughout the day and bring it to the food bank.

According to the article, "Last year, the drive collected more than 70 million pounds of food, making it the ninth consecutive year that brought in at least 70 million pounds. In its 20 years so far, Stamp Out Hunger has collected more than 1 billion pounds of food."

Acceptable nonperishable food items include canned soup, canned vegetables, fruits and juices, canned meats and fish, pasta, rice and boxed goods such as cereal.

Joining the Postal Service in this annual effort are the National Association of Letter Carriers, National Rural Carriers Association, AFCIO, Feeding America, United Way and Campbell Soup. All food and donations collected will go directly to local charities and food pantries associated with the individual Post Offices.

For more on the "Stamp Out Hunger" food drive, click here.

Photo Tour of the USPS Stamp Fulfillment Services Center

2013-04-10T10:49:00.002-07:00

The Stamp Fulfillment Services (SFS) located in Kansas City, Kansas is a fully automated fulfillment center for the United States Postal Service. Operating in 300,000 square feet of space, 156 feet underground, it is sometimes referred as the 'The Cave.' That's because it is situated 3/4 mile into one and visitors have to take a bus to get to it!

According to a press release, SFS’s daily inventory of stamps ranges from 400 million to 600 million, with a fulfillment rate of 12,000 to 15,000 orders from around the world per day. Most of those orders have a turnaround time of just 24 – 36 hours.

Sales at the facility reached $468 million in 2009.

The SFS provides mint stock, First Day Covers, Digital Color Postmarks and many other collectibles. An onsite store is opened to meet the needs of local business customers and visitors to the facility. SFS fulfills orders from the www.usps.com website, 1-800-STAMP24, and from the USA Philatelic catalog.

Back in March, members (shown above) of the American Philatelic Society and Center toured the SFS.

Click here for photos of their visit.

Jay Leno Talks About the New 'Muscle Car' Stamps

2013-04-03T08:54:00.002-07:00

Check out the backstory on how the new 'Muscle Cars' stamps came to be as TV personality interviews Postmaster General Patrick Donahoe and Stamp Artist Tom Fritz on Jay's jaylenosgarage.com website.

Selling Advertising on Stamps

2013-03-28T21:02:00.001-07:00

"Some say the U.S. should follow the lead of the many other countries that have privatized the post office. Short of that politically unlikely solution, about the only money-making strategy left is to follow Heinlein’s advice and sell the moon. Which is to say: It’s time for the Postal Service to monetize its most valuable tangible asset and offer advertising space on the 22 billion stamps it sells each year," writes Stephen L. Carter, a professor of law at Yale University, on the Bloomberg.com website.

Professor Carter says, "The idea isn’t entirely new. In 1981, the USPS proposed selling advertisements on the booklets holding stamps (not on the stamps themselves), an idea that went nowhere. Beginning in the late 19th century, several other nations, including Great Britain, began to allow advertising on the obverse side of stamps, as well as on what is known as the selvedge (the page edges that are left when you tear out the stamps)."

Now? Who knows? "A stamp bearing the Nike logo or images from 'Mad Men' might be a huge seller," suggests Carter. Maybe they could sell space on their vehicles as well?

To read the entire article, click here.

Belgian Chocolate Flavored Stamps

2013-03-26T09:30:00.002-07:00

Thejournal.ie website asks "FEEL LIKE having chocolate at Easter in Belgium? Well, send a letter and really lick that chocolate-flavoured postal stamp.

According to the article the Belgian post office has issued 538,000 stamps "that have pictures of chocolate on the front – but the essence of cocoa oil in the glue at the back for taste and in the ink for smell."

Belgian stamp collector Marie-Claire Verstichel is quoted as saying while the taste was a bit disappointing, “they smell good.”

To read the entire article, click here.

Scouts Earn Their Stamp Collecting Merit Badge

2013-03-23T21:46:00.001-07:00

Eleven Scouts graduated from my Stamp Collecting Merit Badge workshop today in Northridge, Calif.

Scouts learned how to soak, hinge, and mount stamps. The found out about first day covers, where to get stamps, how to use tongs, preserving their collection and various types of albums. They also designed their very own stamp.

Congratulations to all the Scouts and a big thank you to The American Philatelic Society, The Los Angeles Philatelic Society, The National Association of Stamp Dealers, and Mystic Stamps for providing materials and/or financial support.

For more on attending or putting on a Stamp Collecting Merit Badge workshop, click here.

Vatican Issues Stamps for the 'Sede Vacante'

2013-03-14T13:03:00.003-07:00

The Euronews website reports, "The Pope may have left, but the tourists remain in the Vatican city to get their hands on the hottest souvenir going. A limited edition stamp for the 'sede vacante' has been issued by the Vatican post office."

Reporter Fabien Farge writes, "Marking the first papal resignation in 600 years, the stamp is expected to become especially valuable if postmarked on the first day. Designed by Daniela Longo it depicts an angel with two keys under a canopy. It is the seventh time that a stamp has been issued to mark the vacant see since the tradition began in 1939."

The stamps, shown above, cost the same as regular Vatican postal stamps which come in four denominations.The image on the stamps depicts an angel holding an umbrella and a set of crossed keys, the coat of arms for the Holy See during the Sede Vacante. A total of 200,000 such sets of stamps were printed.

To watch video about the new stamps, click here.

Preservationists Protest Sale of Historic Post Offices

2013-03-10T11:54:00.001-07:00

"The Santa Monica [Calif.] post office, with its distinctive PWA Moderne style, is one of about 200 post offices around the country, dozens of them architecturally distinctive buildings, that the Postal Service has indicated it may choose to sell in coming years because of its financial problems, " writes reporter Robin Pogrebin the the Art and Design section of the New York Times.

According to the article, "Eleven historic post offices are already on the market in places like Yankton, S.D.; Gulfport, Miss.; Norwich, Conn.; and Washington. In many cases the buildings have not only been community hubs, but also remain among the most architecturally distinguished buildings in their towns, legacies of New Deal efforts to put America back to work."

When these post offices close, preservationists say, important public buildings become private preserves as they are refurbished into commercial spaces like high-end retail stores. Though many of the buildings’ exteriors are protected by local landmark laws, many of the interiors are not and developers tend to make changes like renovating lobbies, "pens Pogrebin.

Shown above, Josh Kornbluth, in character as Ben Franklin, speaking to protesters fighting the possible sale of a post office in Berkeley, Calif.

To read the entire article, click here.

Philatelic Quilt and Pillow

2013-03-09T08:28:00.003-08:00

Cathe Holden of Petaluma, Calif. shares her creative ideas, crafty projects, original designs, artistic inspiration, product reviews and loads of free stuff (including how to make this postage stamp quilt and pillow for a cigar box doll bed) on her JustSomethingIMade.com website.

Illinois Stamp Dealer Featured in Paper

2013-03-07T08:01:00.003-08:00

The Rasdale Dale Stamp Company of Westmont, Illinois is featured in an article that appeared in suburban Chicago's Daily Herald.

Kim Kellermann, the 55-year-old grandson and part of the third generation of family members running Rasdale Stamps is quoted in the piece as saying, ""Whether a collector focuses on 19th-century stamps from his ancestors' homeland or on the latest pop culture stamps featuring 'The Simpsons,' stamps help collectors understand a region, an era, politics and art."

He goes on to say, "I've never touted stamps as an investment. It's a hobby. It takes time. It takes patience. Instant gratification? There isn't that with stamps."

Reporter Burt Constable writes,"At Rasdale, Kellermann handles U.S. stamps, while his brother, Kevin Kellermann, 52, is a licensed auctioneer and expert in foreign stamps. Their sister, Kristin Maravelias, 49, who has a law degree and lives in Mount Prospect, manages the office and handles the accounting. Their mother, Joanne, still was employed in the family business in 2011 when 'she died working on her stamp collection' in her Lombard home..."

Shown above, Kim Kellermann in Rasdale's 7,800-square-foot warehouse with boxes of material for one of their stamp auctions.

To read the entire article, click here.

Free copy of "Postal Facts- 2013"

2013-03-02T00:01:00.000-08:00

The U.S. Postal Service has released on-line a nifty little 24-page, color booklet filled with interesting information about what it does.

Titled "Postal Facts-2013" it includes the following sections...

Size and Scope
A Decade of Facts and Figures
This Post Office Is Always Open — USPS.COM and USPS Mobile
History. Foundation. Art. Preservation
People. Community. Social Responsibility
Postage Stamps
A Simpler Way to Ship
Innovation in the Mail
What the Postal Service Wants You to Know
Postal Blue Goes Green
Innovative Technologies — Systems at Work
Information Technology
Security. Law Enforcement. Preserving the Trust
Forensics. Crime Scenes. Evidence.
Postal Facts 2013
One Day in the Life of the U.S. Postal Service

Click here to download your free copy of "Postal Facts-2013."

Recycling Center Helps 'Stamps for the Wounded'

2013-03-01T00:01:00.000-08:00

Paris, Tennessee's Post-Intelligencer reports two employees of the Henry County Recycling Center have been awarded certificates of appreciation from the Daughters of the American Revolution, Colonial Dames XVII Century, and Daughters of American Colonists. for their work helping wounded veterans by providing stamps for Stamps For The Wounded program.

The center retrieved stamps from recycled envelopes, delivering them to the three local groups, who then passed them along to Stamps for the Wounded.

According to the article, "Stamps for the Wounded, in its 71st year, is a volunteer group that collects millions of stamps and related materials and gives them to wounded veterans for stamp collecting and stamp-based crafts. The organization was founded in 1942 by stamp collector Ernie Kehr."

Kehr had philatelic columns in numerous newspapers, including the New York World-Telegram, the New York Herald Tribune, and Long Island’s Newsday. On radio and television, he promoted philately in over two thousand shows. He wrote several books, with the most popular one being “The Romance of Stamp Collecting” published in 1947.

Shown above, representatives from the Daughters of the American Revolution, Colonial Dames XVII Century, and Daughters of American Colonists help package stamps at the Henry County Recycling Center.

For more on this story, click here.

How to Save The Post Office

2013-02-27T00:01:00.000-08:00

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2013/02/26/1189880/-How-to-save-the-post-office

Ameircan Stamp Dealers Association Hires PR Firm

2013-02-26T00:01:00.000-08:00

The Business Journals Digital Network website reports, "For the first time in its 99 year history, The American Stamp Dealers Association (ASDA) has hired a Public Relations firm. Insider Media Management (www.insidermediamgmt.com) has been selected to help attract new and former stamp collecting enthusiasts to the hobby," according to press release that appears on the website.

According to a press release that appears on the firm's website, "To accomplish this goal, the PR firm run by award-winning former news journalists has developed an integrated social media and media relations campaign called, The Stamp Love (www.thestamplove.com).

Insider Media Management's Public Relations Manager, Maureen Rowland is quoted in the release as saying, ""We were inspired to call our campaign the Stamp Love after spending time with ASDA members and realizing the passion they have for this hobby."

The campaign is built on four elements of stamp collecting which are easily relatable to everyone, including those who have never considered practicing this hobby: art, family, history and value.

"Through online and traditional media channels the campaign will lay out how each stamp is a work of art, collecting is a hobby which can bring families together, stamps and collecting have an extensive history worldwide, and many stamps have a significant monetary value" adds Rowland.

To read the entire press release, click here.

Letter Carriers To Protest Saturday Delivery Cut

2013-02-22T18:44:00.003-08:00

The People's World website, reports, "Stepping up their grassroots lobbying of lawmakers, the National Association of Letter Carriers (NALC) will stage a nationwide protest on March 24 against the Postal Service's Saturday service shutdown scheme. In addition, they're already urging carriers and constituents to write and call their lawmakers in protest."

According to reporter Mark Gruenberg, "NALC members plan to hit the streets on what would ordinarily be their day off to tell citizens and customers about the negative impact of USPS plans to cancel Saturday pickups and delivery, starting on Aug. 5, except for parcels.The NALC's national mobilization accompanies a similar effort for several days in February by the other big USPS union, the Postal Workers. NALC and other workers also want to drum up support for legislation by Sen. Bernie Sanders, Ind.-Vt., and Rep. Peter DeFazio, D-Ore., to keep Saturday delivery while offering other solutions to the Postal Service's financial ills."

Gruenberg goes on to say, "But lawmakers are apparently splitting along partisan lines when it comes to USPS' plan to save $2 billion yearly by eliminating Saturday service - a move that unions, citing USPS studies, add would actually lose at least $5.2 billion in revenue.

To read the entire article, click here.

How Some Famous Stamp Collectors Got Started

2013-02-21T00:01:00.000-08:00

The Philatelic Database website has posted an interesting article by Bill Hornadge titled "Relax With Stamps" in which some famous stamp collectors are profiled. Among the usual famous collectors cited are Czar Nicholas, King George V, President Franklin D. Roosevelt, and Queen Elizabeth of Great Britain.

However, one collector mentioned in the piece, Simon Wiesenthal, hunter of Nazi war criminals, is not so well known for his philatelic passion.

According to Hornadge, "Wiesenthal was near death in the infamous Mauthausen concentration camp when it was captured by the American army in May 1945. After expert medical treatment, Wiesenthal recovered some of his physical strength and joined the War Crimes Office of the American army. But the mental stress he had gone through in the camp played such havoc with his mind that he suffered from insomnia and by 1948 was close to a complete nervous breakdown. The doctor whom he consulted realised that Wiesenthal needed an interest strong enough to expunge the torturing memories of Mauthausen. He recommended stamp collecting."

Hornadge goes on to say, " Until that time, Wiesenthal had no interest in philately, but he realised the soundness of the doctor’s advice and decided to take up collecting to quieten his nerves."

Wiesenthal is quoted as saying, "“I don’t wish to serve as a publicity agent for stamp dealers, but I must admit that the new hobby really diverted me and put my mind at rest. I bought some catalogues, magnifying glasses, a pair of tweezers etc. and spent my evenings bent over the stamps which caught increasingly my imagination. It made me forget the events of the preceding day. It became a passion with me.”

Shown above, 2010 Israeli stamp commemorating the life of Simon Wiesenthal.

To read the entire article, click here.

Postal Office Plans to Sell “Rain Heat & Snow” Apparel

2013-02-20T00:01:00.000-08:00

The Washington Business Journal reports, "The U.S. Postal Service is in the works to launch a new product line of apparel and accessories under the brand name, 'Rain Heat & Snow.”

According to reporter Greg Bianco, "It has partnered with Cleveland-based Wahconah Group to produce the product lines, and they use the deliverer’s unofficial motto as the root of the branding: "Neither snow nor rain nor heat nor gloom of night stay these couriers from the swift completion of their appointed rounds.""

Steven Mills, Postal Service corporate licensing manager is quoted as saying, "The main focus will be to produce Rain Heat & Snow apparel and accessories using technology to create 'smart apparel' — also known as wearable electronics."

To read the entire article, click here.

For more on this story, click here.

Israeli Stamps Offend Some

2013-02-19T00:01:00.000-08:00

Last week Haaretz reported on the Israeli Philatelic Service's decision not to use a picture from 1948 of a young woman working at the Ayalon Institute, a secret ammunition factory that operated before the state was established, producing bullets for the Haganah, then an underground paramilitary organization. The service cited the woman's "bare legs" as the reason for rejecting the photo.

Yesterday, Haaretz, this wasn't the first time the Philatelic Service censored a stamp for fear of offending the religious public.

According to the article by Ofer Aderet, "In 2000, the service issued a stamp to encourage proper oral hygiene for children. The stamp featured Adam and Eve with fig leaves covering their genitals and Eve tempting Adam to eat candies from the Tree of Knowledge. Righteous Adam turns away with a large, defiant toothbrush in hand."

Aderat goes on to say, "The dental hygiene stamp was the inspiration of Dr. Haim Galon, editor of Haaretz's now defunct stamps section. In the original version, Galon wrote in a letter to the editor, the toothbrush was drawn 'in a very strategic place on the man's body.' Ultimately, it was moved a few millimeters higher so as not to offend the religious public and the whole affair passed without complaint, wrote Galon."

To read the entire article, click here.

Postage Stamps in the Digital Age

2013-02-18T00:01:00.000-08:00

The Wichita Eagle reports, "The digital age is messing with one of the world’s most popular hobbies: philately, the study and collecting of postage stamps."

Bernd Frazier, president of the Wichita Stamp Club is quoted as saying, "It's very damaging. American collections once lovingly handed from one generation to the next are being sold or given away."

Ralph Lott is also quoted in the article by Beccy Tanner. Lott points out internationally, some stamp collections are taking off.

“It’s going great in China,” he said. “They have people emerging who have money and pride in their country. Collections are growing in other parts of the world.”

To read the entire article, click here.

Read more here: http://www.kansas.com/2013/02/17/2680403/in-digital-age-some-collectors.html#storylink=cpy

Easter Island Post Office Does Brisk Postcard Business

2013-02-17T00:01:00.000-08:00

Paul Brady of the Huffington Post calls the post office on Easter Island "The World's Loneliest Post Office."

Brady pens, "In the middle of the South Pacific, one of the world's most remote post offices continues to do brisk business in stamps, as tourists from around the globe flock to pay their respects to the postcard, a much-maligned, antiquated but great form of expression."

"Asked if people still send lots of postcards from Easter Island, a clerk replied with a drawn out 'Siiii,' that indicated the glaringly obvious question fell somewhere between idiotic and offensive," according to Brady.

To read the entire article and see additional photos, click here.